Blogs from Petén Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 5

Guatemala was my first chance to pause after a couple of months of consistent travel up from Panama (oh the woes of the modern traveller!). I headed straight for its second city, Xela, partly because it was the gateway to a two day climb of Central America's highest peak and partly because the language schools were so incredibly cheap. I enrolled with Utatlan, where USD 155 got me 20 hours of private tuition, 7 days living with a family less than 10 minutes walk from the school, and 3 meals a day with the family! It was incredible value, given that by the time I'm next in London I'm sure a round of 4 pints will probably cost about the same!! For the real penny pinchers, I saw the same package offered with some of the ... read more

Hi all. Have made it up to Guatemala and it's still hot! It's not so much the heat as the humidity, you almost have to remind yourself to breath sometimes. I know, boo hoo, it's hot, but when it's running down your neck and other parts of the body, that kind of kills the fun for me. But enough of that. I'm currently in a place called Rio Dulce, literal Spanish translation is sweet river and it's pretty quiet and laid back here. Rio Dulce is on the lake Lago de Izabal at the base of what I'm told is the longest bridge in Cental America. Here in Rio Dulce, I'm staying in a little cabin on the lake at a marina and I've got to say, there are some expensive boats here! Apparently this is ... read more

It was our final day in Guatemala and on the way to the Belize boarder we stopped off at Tikal to see some more Mayan ruins. I think at this point everyone had seen enough of the Mayan ruins because, as amazing as they looked, they all look pretty much the same and we had already visited Chichen Itza and Palenque in Mexico. I would say the best thing about these ruins at Tikal is that the temples rise above the rainforest canopy and give a spectacular view. However the highlight for me was probably seeing a monkey spider in the wild, but unfortunately I was unable to get a photo. I did however get to take a photo of a bird called a crested guan (I believe) and our tour guide told me that they ... read more

After spending three and a half weeks in western Guatemala, I finally decided to head east and quickly make my way to Tikal, through Belize, and into Mexico. From Xela, I took a 4 PM four hour Linea Dorada bus to Guatemala City. I had heard that I would be in the new, modern bus station on Guatemala City, but I ended up in a small, hot, and definitely seedy transfer station in the middle of the city. I didn't risk going outside, so I was sadly happy to get the last shrimp-flavored Ramen noodle bowl in the station. I couldn't figure out much of a difference between first class and grand class, aside from the latter being a double-decker bus, having blankets, and costing 40 Quetzales more. The woman at the desk said that the ... read more

Sunday, May 19 US $1 = 7.8 Quetzal (Q) I was drippy all day; as the forecast has predicted, it was easily 99 degrees outside, and the NE part of Guatemala was melting before my very eyes. I walked from Flores, across the bridge and over to the bus station, about a 20-minute walk and was told that this being Sunday there were limited buses heading to Tikal. The local bus would have cost me 30Q (about $3.84) but there just happened to be a minibus full of foreigners heading for a sunset tour at Tikal that could take me for 40Q. This was not my preferred method of travel, as I prefer to move about the local way, but I was left with no other choice. The bus arrived, I clambered aboard the tourist-packed shuttle, ... read more